Machine for coating sheet material.



W. S. KINSLEY.

MACHINE FOR COATING SHEET MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. I4. 191s.

Iz. Patented July 31, 1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

W. S. KINSLEY.

MACHINE FOR COATING SHEET MATERIAL.

APPucATmN HLED FEB. 14. 191s.

1,235, 326. Patented July 31, 1917.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

E 3 W /9 '2o /9 ya g1 s/,74M W W. S. KINSLEY.

MACHINE FOR COATING SHEET MATERIAL.

APPLICATION HLED FEB. 14, 1916.

1,235,326. Patented. July 31,1917.v

3 SHEETS-*SHEET 3.

l---g f WILLIAM S. KINSLEY, OF READING, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 THE RUSSELL COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

MACHINE FOR COATING SHEET MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 31, 1917.

Application filed February 14, 1916. Serial No. 7 8,121.,

To all Iwlw/m it may concern:

Be it known that I, WELIAM S. KrNsLEY, of Reading, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certail new and useful Improvements in Machines for Coating Sheet Material, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for coating sheet material, such as pulp-board, with an adhesive to make pasteboard. I do not limit myself, however, to the use of adhesive material, which will be hereinafter referred to as paste, as the material which is to be applied tothe sheets.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and rapidly operating machine for supplying coatings of equal thickness to the sheet material, vand to this end the invention consists in the construction and combination of parts substantially as hereinafter described and claimed.

Of the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine, omitting some details which appear in other figures in order to avoid confusion in said Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 represents a plan view of the parts below theline 242. in Fig. 1, the frame uprights being shown in section in said FigjQ. This figure is broken out in the middle to indicate that the width of the -maone of the levers which carry the lower roll,

and of the parts carried by that portion.

Fig. V6 represents a section through the length of one of the paste troughs, showing the agitator pins in elevation.

Fig. 7 is a broken out detail hereinafter referred to, to illustrate the means for adjusting each of the Scrapers or doctor blades.

Similar reference characters indicate similar parts in all of the views.

T frame which may be of any suitable are connected by a rod 16 as shown by come v paring Figs. 1 and 2. Mounted in each lever 15 somewhat in advance of the midlength of said lever, is a stud shaft 17, the inner ends of the two shafts 17 supporting the lower 4 treating or paste-applying roll 18. ,The roll 18, and also the upper roll 78 hereinafter described, is provided with helical grooves 1'9 alternating'with flat-faced ribs 20. The sides of the grooves are inclined or diverged as best shown in the enlarged detail Fig. 3. This shape of the grooves enables the paste which enters into said grooves from the Vsupply troughs hereinafter referred to, to more readily escape, or be drawn from the grooves, to be laid onto the pulp-board or other sheet material that is passed between the upper and lower rolls. The ribs and grooves are helical in opposite directions from the midlength of each roll,'as indicated in Fig. 2. This formation of the ribs, or the grooves resulting in ribs, results in the paste being applied to the, sheet material in a coat consisting mainly of ridges, said helical arrangement also serving to aid in drawing the sheet material through, or between the rolls. Rolls having smooth peripheries vneither serve to apply the paste in a uniform film nor do they act to feed or draw the sheets. If the rolls were provided with grooves or ribs which were not helical but in parallel formation around the peripheries of the rolls, there would be little or no feeding or drawing action, and the coat or coats of paste would be laid on the sheet in straight parallel ridges, and if the helical grooves extended uniformly form one end to the other instead of in opposite directions as above described, the rolls would not properly feed or draw the sheets as described, but would shift the sheets laterally. That is, the sheets would not feed straight. Owing to the fact that there is at least some paste applied to and carried around by the flat faces of the ribs or ridges there is a suiicient amount of paste transferred to the sheet by `said flat faces to moisten those portions of the sheet so that when two sheets are afterward brought together and pressed, the paste which is in ridges is more easily distributed across those lines or narrow areas which have been but slightly coated.- ln other words, the relatively thin stripes of paste that are applied by the flat surfaces'of the ribs, aid in letting the thicker stripes from the grooves be squeezed out when a plurality of boards are pressed together.

For applying' paste to pulp-board it is preferable that the coating rolls shall be kept hot. To steam-heat the rolls would result in too high a temperature. l employ hot water at a suitable temperature, said hot water being kept in circulation through the hollow rolls by means of pipes 21 which pass through the stud shafts or trunnions of said rolls.

l will first describe the trough and other devices which cooperate with the lower roll, and to this end l refer particularly to Figs. 2, fl and 5. Mounted on the rod 16 are two brackets 22, said brackets being connected by a bar 23 which in turn supports the wall 24 of a paste-trough. End walls 25 of said trough have their edges curved .to ht closely against the periphery of the roll, and maybe faced with suitable packing material m if desired to prevent the escape of paste at the ends of the trough. The bottom of the trough is formed by a bar or scraper which l refer to as a doctor 26. 1t is essential, of course, that this doctor be accurately adjusted relative to the periphery of the roll. 1f the roll were solid, it would ordinarily be suiiicient to uniformly adjust the doctor. When the roll is hollow, however, and hot water is circulated. through it there is a slightly greater amount of expansion of the intermediate or middle portion of the roll than at the ends of the roll. lf the roll is then to apply a film or coating of uniform thickness, it is absolutely necessary to slightly bend the doctor in the direction of its length. ln Fig. 7 l

illustrate mea-ns for doing this, consisting of a plurality of sets of screws 27, 28, one pair being near each end ofthe trough and doctor and one pair at or about the mid length thereof. Each screw 27 passes through the bar 23 and bears against the rear edge of the doctor 26 to adjust it forward, while each screw 28 is attached to the doctor 26 and passes through an aperturie in the bar 23 and is provided with a nut 29. lt will now be understood that either portion of the doctor can be minutely adjusted in or out by means of these three pairs of adjusting screws, to compensate for variations of expansion of dierent portions of the roll, when heated.

The brackets 22 are provided with ears 30 with which clamp-ears 31, pivoted at 82. cooperate to grip the brackets upon the rod Lacasse 16. An eye-bolt 33, passing through apertures in ears 30, 31, is provided with nuts 34 at one end, ,and has a cam 35 provided with an operating lever or handle 36 mounted in its eye so that, by oscillating the handle 36, the cam will be caused to act to draw the ears 31 together, or release them, according to whether the brackets 22 are to be permitted to be shifted rotatably upon the rod 16, when the trough is to be adjusted relatively to the periphery of the roll 18. ylhe rod 16 is provided with a handle 37 at one end (Fig. 2) whereby said rod can be rocked in its bearings if it is desired to swing the trough away from the roll for such purposes as cleaning vthe trough. A shaft 38, provided with sharpedged rolls 39, is mounted on cone-tipped screw bearings et() supported by ears rising from the wall 24, said rolls 39 serving to support the coated sheet/as it emerges from between the rolls and to direct the coated sheet to any suitable depository or drying mechanism.

ln the manufacture of pasteboard and also some other sheet material, there is frequently considerable iibrous material escappractical way to keep such fibrous material from getting into the paste trough. I provide means for keeping the paste in a state of agitation so that any foreign matter dropping into the paste cannot accumulate against .the edge of the doctor so as to interfere with the laying of a smooth coat upon the sheet |The levers 15 are provided with brackets in which are mounted sleeves 41 (Fig. 2) having arms 42. A rod or rock shaft 43 extends through the sleeves l1 and has a handle 44 at one end. A portion of each sleeve al is split and is provided with ears 45 (Figs. 2 and 5) through which an' eye-bolt 46 passes, said eye'bolt having nuts 4:7 at one end and having a cam 48 provided with a handle 49 mounted in itseye. This structure provides for clamping the sleeves 41 to the rod 43 land yet enables the clamps to be readily opened. The ends of Ythe two arms e2 are slightly recessed and receiveva slide 50 (Figs. 2, 4c and 6) having a num ber of agitator pins 51 extending down close to the bottom of the trough or the doctor 26. rlhe bar 50 at one end has a pin 52 which extends into a slot in one end of a lever 53 pivoted at 54 and having a roll 55 entering a cam groove 56 in a hub which rotates with one of the shafts 17. This structure insures vthe constant reciprocation of the bar 50, during operation of the machine, the pins 51 moving back and forth in the mass of paste in the trough. As these pins extend close to the point where the edge of the doctor meets the roll, said pins prevent any accumulation of fibrous or foreign material. at a point to clog and shut on the ing from it during the coatinfr. There is no passage of paste, and so interfere with the uniformity of the coat of paste taken by the roll to be transferred to the sheets.

A gear57 (Figs. 1 and 2) is secured to rotate with one of the stud shafts 17, said gear meshing with anintermediate pinion 58 carriedby a stud shaft 59, said pinion 58, in turn, meshing with a gear 60 carried by a sleeve 61 mounted on one of the lstud bearings 14. Said sleeve carries a sprocket 62 which is connected by means of a chain 63 with a suitable driving sprocket 64.

I will now describe the means for yieldingly supporting the opposite ends of the two levers 15, referring chiefly `to Fig. 1. Rising from a flat portion of`the frame at each side of the machine is a pin 65, a similar pin 66 rising also underneath the'rear end of each lever. These pins are screwthreaded and carry co-acting jam nuts 67 which serve as adjustable collars, to support the lower ends of springs 68, 69. The front and rear ends of the levers 15 carry downwardly projecting screw threaded pins 70, 71 which pass into threaded apertures in the lever and are provided with set nuts 72 to secure them in vertically adjusted positions. The strength of the springs 68 is such as to yieldingly raise the front ends of the levers, and the lower roll 18, to a limit prescribed bythe two pins 66, 71. As shown in Fig. 1, these last-mentioned pins are in contact. When, however, a sheet is passed between the two rolls, the said rolls are parted aglainst the resistance of spring 68 but aided somewhat -by the springs 69. It will therefore'be seen that the roll 18 is yieldingly sup-ported, but in a position of what may be described as partially balanced between two springs so that the movement of the roll is quite sensitive. The roll 18, however, can not rise any higher than the point determined by the adjustment of the pins or stops 71.l

The upper levers 75 are in many respects similar to the'lower levers 15. Said levers 75 are mounted on the upper stud bearings 13 (Fig. 1) and are connected by a rod 76 as indicated in the sectional view Fig. '4. The levers 75 carry stud shafts 77, (similar to the stud shafts 17) and they support the upper roll 78 having water circulation pipes 79. It is to be understood that the two rolls are substantially duplicates of each other.

Brackets 80 are mounted on rod 76 and are connected by a bar 81. which supports bolt. A slide 89 carrying agitator pins 90 is mounted on arms similar to the arms 42 hereinbefore described. `A rock shaft 91 is mounted in the upper levers and on said rock shaft is mounted sleeves 92 having earsl 93 connected by an eye-bolt 94 and having a clamping cani 95 provided with a handle 96. 'The parts just described are closely similar in all respectsl to those which have been described in connection with the supplying of the lower roll with paste. In Fig. 4 the positions to which the agitator pins 90 may be raised and the .trough then swung out, are indicated by dotted lines. to enable the trough to be readily cleaned. It is to be understood, of course, that the trough and agitator pins employed in connection with the lower roll can be also swung upwardly and outwardly to facilitate cleaning the trough. 1

@ne of the stud shafts .77 of the upper roll is provided with a gear 97 (Fig. 1)

This is y meshing with an intermediate pinion 98 mounted on a stud shaft V'99 carried by one of the levers 75, said pinion 98 meshing with a gear 100 mounted on one of the upper stud bearings 13, said gear 100 meshing with the Vgear 60, whereby the two rolls are driven although capable of being shifted more or less apart.

lProjecting downwardly from forward overhanging portions of the frame 12 are pins 101, similar pins 102 projecting downwardly from rearwardly extending overhanging portions of said frame. Portions of these pins are threaded to permit of the adjustment of nuts 103 to form adjustable collars. On the pins 101 are loosely mounted collars 104. Springs 105 are conned between the collars 104 and thefadjustable collars 103 above them, and springs 106 are confined between the loose collars 104 and the ears of front portions 107 of the levers 75. Springs 108 are conlined between the upper surfaces of the rear ends of the levers 75 and the adjustable collars 103 above them. Mounted in threaded apertures of the rear ends of the levers 7 5, and projecting upwardly are adjustable stop pins 109 provided with set nuts 110. The

upper ends of the pins 109 are in alinement with` the lower ends of the pins 102 and when the machine is at rest, or no sheetmaterial is passing between the rolls, the forward springs 105-106 act to keep the pins 109- 102 in. contact. 1t will thus be seen that v the upper roll by means of its levers is yieldingly mounted in substantially-.the same manner as the lower roll, the employment llt of springs which, to a partial extent, counterbalance each other providing for a. delicate mounting of the rolls.

As illustrated in Fig. 1 the springs 105 are larger or 'of greater strength than the springs 1106. I will now explain the reason for this. lf sheets free from particles of foreign matter are being passed between the rolls, the springs 105 do not yield at all; that is, the springs 105 are of such strength as to oppose any upward movement of the loose collars 104. IThis leaves the springs 106 operative to provide sufhcient delicate pressure of the upper roll toward the lower one. -lf a tool such as a wrench or any other suficiently large object should be lodged upon a sheet that is being passed through the machine, the roll 78' would be liable to be damaged if it could not yield to a greater extent than provided for by the springs 106. 1f any such object should reach the nip of the rolls, and the springs 106 should close up before the roll has yielded enough to permit the passage of such object without damage, the springs 105 then yield under the pressure transmitted to them through the collars 10a from the said closed up springs 106.

lt is desirable that the agitator pins 51, 90, may be conveniently adjusted so that their lower ends will nearly or just touch the bottoms of the troughs. Adjust-ment is eected by varying the lowermost positions that can be assumed by the slides 50, 89.

As best shown in Fig. 5 an adjustable screw i 111 fitted to a threaded aperture in a lug 112 of an end wall 25 of the lower trough,JY extends under one of the arms 42 which supports one end of the slide 50. By vertically adjusting thescrew 111 the lowermost position of said arm 42 can be determined. As both of the arms e2 are clamped to the rock shaft 43, the other arm 42 is of course varied as to its vertical position, by the 'saine means.

As indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4, there is a similar adjusting screw 113 which determines vthe vertical position of one of the arms of rock shaft 91 to serve the same purpose as just described in relation to ,the adjusting screw 111.

1n operation, the sheet material is fed in any suitable way to the nip of the rolls. A pile of the sheets may be placed upon a suitable support such as a table 114 indicated in Figs. 2 land 1. Said table is omitted in Fig. 1. The sheets of material are fed in the direction of the arrow a indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, and are discharged from between the rolls to any lsuitable carrier or support. j l 4 The combination of springs employed results in not only causing the' rolls to press yieldingly against the sheet material, but also yieldingly opposes movement of the rolls in the opposite direction. Consequently when the front edge of a sheet reachesthe nip ofthe rolls and spreads them apart, there is less jump than if only the springs 68, 106, were employed, and vless of a blow struck on the material instaan by the rolls returning to contacting positions. lWhen there is a decided jump of the rolls apart, the material is liable to have passed forward somewhat so as to leave an uncoated space near the front edge of the sheet before coating contact is resumed. By having both rolls yieldingly mounted as described, there will be less of a jump or blow than if only onerroll .were so mounted, because the amount of parting and returning movement is divided between the two rolls.

What l claim is:

1. A machine of the character described, having a pair of coating rolls movable toward and from eachother, and springs for yieldingly opposing movementof the rolls apart and toward each other.

2. A machine of the character described,

having a pair of coating and feeding rolls movable toward and from each other, springs for yieldingly opposing movement of the rolls apart and springs for yieldingly opposing movement of the rolls toward each other. Y A 3. A machine of the character described, having a pair of coating and feeding rolls movable toward and from each other, and springs for yieldingly opposingmovement of the rolls apart or toward each other, stop mechanism being provided to limit the movement of the rolls toward each other.

4. A machine of the character. described having a pair of upper levers and a pair of lower levers', rolls mounted in said levers, and springs acting on the levers to yieldingly oppose movement of the rolls in eitherv direction.

5. A machine of the charactendescribed comprising a frame, upper and lower levers mounted in said frame, rolls rcarried by said levers, and springs conned between both ends of the levers and portions of the frame.

6. A machine of the characterv described comprising a frame, upper and lower levers mounted in said frame, rolls carried by said levers, and springs confined between both lends of the levers and portions of the frame, the springs which act upon the front ends of the upper ,levers being duplex and of dierent sizes.

7. A machine of he character described, having a pair of coacting coating and feeding vrolls helicallyvgrooved in opposite directions from their middle yportions toward their ends, said rolls being geared to rotate to positively feed material between them.

8. A machine of the character described, having a pair o f coacting coating and feeding rolls helically grooved in opposite directions from their middle portions toward their ends, said rolls being geared to rotate to positively feed material between them, the sides of the grooves being beveled.

9. A machine of the character described,

havingr a pair of coacting coating and feeding rolls helically grooved in opposite directions from their middle portions toward their ends, said rolls being geared to rotate 5 to positively feed material between them, l

the sides of the grooves being beveled and the tops of the ribs between the grooves being flat.

10. A machine of the character' described having a pair of yieldingly mounted levers, a rod connecting said levers, a roll carried by said levers, brackets mounted on said rod, and a paste trough carried by said brackets, whereby the trough preserves its relation- 5 ship to the roll during yielding movements of the levers and roll.

11. A machine of the character described, having a pair of yieldingly mounted upper levers, a rod connecting said levers, a roll carried by said levers, a pair of yieldingly mounted lower levers, a rod connecting them, a roll carried by the lower levers, and a paste trough carried by each of said rods, whereby the relationship of the troughs to 5 their rolls are preserved during' yielding movements of the levers and rolls.

12. In a machine of the character described, upper and lower levers, rolls carried l by said levers, springs for yieldingly oppos- O ing movement'of the rolls in either direction, and troughs for applying paste to the rolls, said troughs being also mounted in the levers.

13. In a machine of the character described, upper and lower levers, rolls carried by said levers, springs for yieldingly opposing movement of the rolls in either direction, and troughs for applying paste to the rolls, said troughs being pivotally mounted in the levers and adapted to be swung away from and toward the rolls.

14. A machine of the character described, having a roll, a trough for supplying paste to the roll, said trough having a doctor to control the film of paste taken by the roll, and means including reciprocating members in close proximity to the edge of the doctor for preventing the accumulation of foreign matter against said edge.

15. A machine of the character described, having a roll, a trough for supplying paste to the roll, the bottom of said trough being formed to control the film of paste taken by the roll, a bar having a series of, pins extending substantially to the bottom of the trough close to its edge adjacent the roll, and means for reciprocating said bar. y.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

WILLIAM S. KINSLEY. 

